Chapter 8 - Lily's Wedding
Lily married at twenty-nine.
Nathan walked her halfway down the aisle.
Then stopped.
I met them there.
Lily took my arm.
Together, Nathan and I walked her the rest of the way.
Her idea.
Marissa sat in the front row beside Julian.
She cried.
Ethan and Grace sat behind them.
Nobody cared that the arrangement looked strange.
It belonged to us.
At the reception, Lily made a speech.
She thanked Nathan for respecting boundaries.
Marissa for making an impossible decision when she was young.
Me for choosing her.
Then she said:
“Most people think families are built by knowing exactly where everyone belongs.”
She looked around.
“Mine taught me they're built by letting people choose where they belong.”
I cried.
Obviously.
Then Lily smiled.
“And Mom taught me something else.”
Oh no.
“She taught me that if a man insults your career at a wedding, don't argue.”
Everyone looked at Ethan.
He covered his face.
“Just wait,” Lily continued, “because apparently a child might run across the room and destroy his entire understanding of reality.”
The room exploded with laughter.
Even Ethan.
Especially Ethan.
He raised his glass toward me.
“I deserved that.”
“Yes,” I called back.
More laughter.
Five years after our divorce, his mockery had once made me feel small.
May you like
Now the memory belonged to all of us.
It couldn't hurt me anymore.
